Toronto, September 5, 2017 – Environics Analytics (EA), the analytical and marketing services company, today announced the release of WealthScapes 2017, the most comprehensive database available on the assets, liabilities and wealth of Canadians. Now in its tenth year, the latest edition consists of 178 key financial and investment statistics, including disposable income, liquid assets, retirement savings, real estate values, consumer debt and equity holdings.

At a time when marketers face challenges in understanding their customers—thanks in no small part to the sheer quantity of information available today—WealthScapes provides businesses and not-for-profits with immediate insight into the financial and investment behaviour of their customers and prospects. First launched in 2008 as a tool for the financial services industry, the dataset has become popular not just among bankers and financial planners but with retailers, fundraisers, real estate developers and university administrators.

Today WealthScapes plays a vital role in a range of business applications, including target marketing, customer insights, media planning, site location studies and response analysis. Banks and investment companies use the database to calculate wallet share and market potential for specific products like RRSPs, TFSAs, mortgages and GICs. Universities and charities use it to identify high-value donors from contributor lists and target areas that may be home to prospects with sizable investment portfolios. Retailers and real estate developers draw on WealthScapes data to plan commercial and residential developments and better understand financial risks.

Among WealthScapes’ strengths is its wide-ranging data sources. While some financial databases rely on just one source, EA analysts produce authoritative numbers by drawing on more than 30 resources, including the Bank of Canada, Equifax, Statistics Canada and The Teranet-National Bank Regional and Property Type Sub-IndicesTM. The multiple sources allow analysts to match the best available control totals in Canada so the data will be endorsed by Chief Economists. With growing concerns about privacy, WealthScapes is built using sophisticated modelling techniques and aggregated, privacy-compliant, small-area data. And though WealthScapes 2017 was created at the dissemination area level, users can append data down to the six-digit postal code.

“Over the past ten years, WealthScapes has become the go-to financial tool to help explain consumers today and anticipate how they’ll behave tomorrow,” says Peter Miron, vice president of demographic and economic data at Environics Analytics and the lead developer of WealthScapes 2017. “And it’s becoming even more important because, as more Canadians retire, their purchase and donation behaviour will depend less on their income and more on their accumulated wealth. And that’s what WealthScapes captures so well: the assets, debts and wealth of Canadians.”

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About the Methodology

WealthScapes 2017 was built using authoritative data and sophisticated modelling techniques. Updated to December 2016, the latest version features a database of key financial and investment statistics including income and income distribution, disposable and discretionary income, savings by type, investments by type, RSP components, pensions and consumer debt. Along with methodological and data improvements to current and historical datasets, WealthScapes is updated to produce the best possible estimates and temporal comparisons. The data can be used on its own for marketing and fundraising applications, or aggregated to develop precise estimates for such applications as analyzing bank holdings and retail trade areas.

About Environics Analytics

One of North America’s premier marketing and analytical services companies, Environics Analytics helps customers turn data and analytics into insight, strategy and results. Established in 2003, EA offers the full range of analytical services—from data supplier to strategic consultancy—and provides authoritative reports, software and modelling approaches to solve business challenges. EA is also a member of the Environics group, a unique alliance of companies dedicated to providing intelligent research, analytics and communications. To learn more, visit environicsanalytics.com or contact us at inquiries@environicsanalytics.com.